Lenny Kravitz Caricature

Lenny Kravitz Caricature, shown here upon the release of his hit cover, “American Woman” in 1999, age 35.

Kravitz is an American singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. His “retro” style incorporates elements of rock, blues, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, pop, folk, and ballads. In addition to singing lead and backing vocals, Kravitz often plays all of the instruments himself when recording.

Born in Manhattan, New York, he’s the only child of actress Roxie Roker (The Jeffersons) and NBC news producer Sy Kravitz. Through his mother, Kravitz is the cousin once removed of television weather presenter Al Roker.

In 1974 his family moved to Los Angeles where he attended Beverly Hills High School. Maria McKee, actor Nicolas Cage and musician Slash were his classmates. In 1978, Kravitz was accepted into the school’s well-respected music program, where he taught himself to play piano and bass.

Kravitz released his debut album Let Love Rule in 1989, a combination of rock and funk with a 1960s vibe. The album was a moderate success in the United States, but became an instant hit outside of the US, especially in Europe.

With 5 (1998), Kravitz embraced digital technology such as Pro Tools and samplers for the first time.
His cover version of The Guess Who’s hit “American Woman” won him another Grammy at the Grammy Awards of 2000 and helped The Guess Who’s song reach a new audience. Kravitz’s version of the song originally came from the soundtrack of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and was added to 5 as a bonus track in 1999.

His greatest hits: “Fly Away”, “Are You Gonna Go My Way”, “Again”, “It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over”, “American Woman”, “I’ll Be Waiting”, “Can’t Get You Off My Mind”, “Always On The Run”, “I Belong To You”, “Let Love Rule”, “Mr. Cab Driver”, “Stand” and “Believe” to name a few.

He won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance four years in a row from 1999 to 2002, breaking the record for most wins in that category as well as setting the record for most consecutive wins in one category by a male.

Kravitz has a daughter Zoe, from his marriage to actress Lisa Bonet.